Ten members of Ironworkers Local 401, Philadelphia, Pa.,听were indicted and have been arrested听for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to commit criminal acts of extortion, destruction of property, and assault in order to force nonunion construction contractors to hire union ironworkers. In addition, the indictment included the $500,000 in damages at 老牛影视member E. Allen Reeves, Inc.鈥檚 Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House project in 2012 as one of the crimes allegedly committed by the defendants.

A health care alert from Washington Council Ernst & Young on the听final rule听implementing the employer mandate provisions under the health care law is available for 老牛影视members. The health care alert provides an overview of key provisions included in the final rule and also outstanding issues.听

Seven 老牛影视member companies, representing 20 chapters, were ranked in听Fortune Magazine鈥檚 annual 鈥淭op 100 Companies to Work For鈥� list. They include: Edward Jones, DPR Construction, Plante Moran, Baker Donelson, PCL Construction, Ernst & Young, TDIndustries and Kiewit Corporation.

老牛影视Feb. 13 signed a joint resolution outlining a partnership and commitment to free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy with Merit Canada, the voice of Canada's eight provincial open shop construction associations.听

More than 600 老牛影视members joined 老牛影视in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw its听proposed rule听that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry. The proposal also would require contractors to implement engineering controls and follow several 鈥渁ncillary鈥� provisions, such as exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and the establishment of regulated areas.听

OSHA听issued a notice of proposed rulemaking听Feb. 10 to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017.听

老牛影视Feb. 11 congratulated the winners of the 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards鈥� the industry鈥檚 leading competition, where the top construction projects and the firms that displayed exemplary commitment to safety and diversity in 2013 were recognized during the awards celebration at the Grand Wailea in Maui, Hawaii.

ABC's听Workforce Development Conference, April 29-May 2, Birmingham, Ala., has been reinvented to allow attendees to create a unique schedule based on their specific interests and training needs. The event will feature more than 40 educational sessions via six tracks: management and implementation, safety, workforce development, increasing productivity, emerging technologies and association management. It also will feature courses on ABC鈥檚 Project Virtual and preconference workshops on safety, lean construction and the 2014 National Electrical Code.听

The Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Feb. 10 issued a final rule implementing the employer mandate provisions included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The final rule makes some changes to the proposed rule issued in December 2012, including phasing in provisions for businesses with 50 to 99 full-time employees and those that offer coverage to most but not yet all of their full-time workers. Generally, ACA mandates that employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees offer a certain level of health coverage or be subject to new taxes. A听fact sheet听issued by the Treasury provides an overview of the phase-in included in the fi

Interstates Companies, Sioux Center, Iowa, was named Associated Builders and Contractors鈥� (ABC) 2013 Contractor of the Year during the 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony, which was held Feb. 11 in Maui, Hawaii.听